From the turn of the 20th century to today, our language has grown by some 500,000 new words—at least, that's today's best guesstimate (1936). What accounts for this quantum leap (1924)? Language expert Sol Steinmetz takes readers on a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (1949), decade-by-decade joyride (1908) through our cultural history since 1900, as seen through the words and terms we've invented to describe it all. From the quaintly genteel days of the 1900s (when we first heard such words as nickelodeon, escalator, and, believe it or not, Ms.) through the Roaring Twenties (the time of flappers, jalopies, and bootleg booze) to the postwar 50s (the years of rock 'n' roll, beatniks, and blast-offs) and into the new millennium (with its blogs, Google, and Obamamania), this feast for word geeks (1984) is a boffo (1934) celebration of linguistic esoterica (1929).